Page 2467 - Week 08 - Thursday, 6 August 2015
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to see that car park shut, and it will have a tragic effect on their businesses. The residents of Northbourne are concerned about what is going to happen to them as they are all evicted to make way for light rail. An article headed “No consultation with residents in Northbourne Avenue public housing” states:
Public housing residents on Northbourne Avenue say that they haven’t been consulted by the government or the ACT Heritage Council about the debate over the future of the housing precinct.
So rip it all up, spend a billion dollars, evict all the tenants, close all the car parks, and then say, “Don’t worry, because we’ve got our legislation that means that we’re immune. But you lot out there, no, you’re not.” There are many articles and many comments relating to that.
Across just about every sector of what this government do we see a lack of consultation. Even when we have consultation it is a sham. What about the University of Canberra hospital? “Two hundred beds,” they said. But we now know that it is actually 140. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation were rightly appalled to have a “significant departure” from the original 2011 proposal. They said:
The ANMF is very concerned that it would now appear that, rather than an additional 200 sub acute in-patient bed spaces being made available, only 140 beds will be delivered …
They sought urgent clarification. So all the way along it was a matter of saying, “No, 200 beds; 200 beds,” and then it was a matter of sneaking in 140. Even when this government purport to be doing consultation, we know they will just do what they want anyway. That is what we have seen with Mocca, that is what we have seen with light rail, and that is what we have seen with the University of Canberra.
I know other members want to have their say, so I will make sure that I rip through a few issues. I think Mr Fluffy is one that deserves attention. With the Mr Fluffy home owners, how did the government contact them and how did it consult with them? It was through a letter to “the householder”. On a most significant health issue that was going to be of significant concern to these people, it was addressed to “the householder”. As people put in their submissions and as people asked about the design of the program, they were largely ignored. Even members of this Assembly were ignored by this government when they put in a report to the government through the PA committee. The government ignored the vast bulk of those recommendations and pleas. We are seeing that now flow over into the dual occupancies and the way it has been handled. I commend Mr Coe for making sure that elements of that have gone to the committee.
I could go on and on: Uriarra. I commend Mr Wall for the great work he did after the people at Uriarra were being hoodwinked about the consultation there. I could still go on and on, but I know there are others who want to talk about some very specific issues, so I will end my comments there. Again I say to this government: if you want to bring the community with you, consult and engage, and let the people have their say. You will then bring people with you; otherwise you will face the backlash.
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